Danny Masterson, best known for his role as Steven Hyde in “That ’70s Show,” has been sentenced to 30 years to life in prison after being found guilty by a Los Angeles jury of raping two women in his Hollywood Hills home in the early 2000s. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo delivered the sentence following statements from the survivors of the sexual assaults that Masterson was convicted of committing in 2003.
Judge Olmedo addressed Masterson, acknowledging his claims of innocence and the potential feelings of being failed by the justice system but emphasized that he was not the victim in this case. She stated that his actions two decades ago took away another person’s voice and choice, and he would need to come to terms with the consequences of those actions.
Masterson’s guilty verdict came after several women, who had met him through the Church of Scientology, accused him of sexual assault in the early 2000s. Although the jury found him guilty on two counts of rape, they couldn’t reach a unanimous decision on another sexual assault charge involving his ex-girlfriend, Chrissie Carnell-Bixler.
The retrial followed accusations by three women, including Carnell-Bixler, that Masterson had sexually assaulted them between 2001 and 2003. Masterson allegedly drugged and raped these women in his Hollywood Hills home. A mistrial was declared in the initial deliberations due to a deadlocked jury.
Masterson’s lawyer, Shawn Holley, addressed the judge before sentencing, emphasizing the impact of the decision on his life and that of his 9-year-old daughter. Holley described Masterson as an exemplary individual in various roles, including father, husband, brother, son, co-worker, and community servant.
Danny Masterson rose to fame through his role on “That ’70s Show” and later appeared in the Netflix series “The Ranch” until his character was written off the show following an investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department.
The survivors testified that church officials conspired with Masterson to cover up the incidents and prevent reporting to law enforcement. They claimed that the Church of Scientology’s influence prevented law enforcement from pursuing the case, citing the church’s filing of affidavits from Scientologists denying the survivors’ accounts. Church officials denied any policy forbidding members from reporting criminal conduct to secular authorities.
Masterson had maintained that his sexual relations with the accusers were consensual and denied the rape allegations brought against him during the #MeToo movement in 2018. While he will be eligible for parole after serving 25 1/2 years, he could potentially face life imprisonment.